an explanation of the breakdown of Tsarist society between 1914 and January 1917?

Question 1

Evidence of political discontent

Answer 1

 An awareness of the range of disillusioned groups, diverse in motivation and coming from both upper and lower strata of society: the role of the elites, the alienated intelligentsia – role of Rasputin in alienating court.
 The development of opposition parties as evidence of discontent.
 Revolution from below; soldiers, sailors, peasants and workers.
 Lenin and Trotsky – their writings and influence and noting that although the major leaders
were abroad.

Question 2

Evidence of the impact of the World War One

Answer 2

Impact on the Russian army from the outset to the crisis of 1916 highlighting withdrawal of support from Tsar by top commanders.
 The impact of government finance, the fall in revenues combined with spiralling expenditure and lack of foreign trade (Germany).
 Impact on the Home Front, disruption in communications, second place to army, food shortages and need to increase productivity and it interrupted the development of the modern state.
 The role of the Army and the failure of the Tsar to retain loyalty and longer term discontent.
 Role of Tsar’s traditional support base – ready to desert the Tsar and autocracy due to the Tsar’s disastrous leaderships during the war, both at the Front and with the Tsarina in Petrograd.
 War highlighting the fight for power between the Army elites and the civilian elites.

Question 3

Evidence of economic discord

Answer 3

Workers were aggrieved by deteriorating conditions in the factories and by food shortages and this had been exacerbated by war.
 Details on strikes and lockouts; closure of factories due to shortages of raw materials, actions of shop steward’s committees, breakdown of rail supply system.
 Actions of government in area of taxation; vodka abolition.
 Economic change and its impact by 1917 – the case ‘for’ modernisation at the turn of the
century may be presented with expansion in production eg record harvests in 1913.
 Similarly, growth rates in industry yet not benefiting workers hence strikes and protests eg
Lena goldfields evidence of discontent and brutal reaction.
 Increased problems by 1917, the demand for bread, the pressures of modernising Russia as seen by the strikes, Putilov and others, the key was reform to address economic disaster as shown by food shortages, queuing and inflation.

Question 4

Evidence of difficulties as a result of social problems and discord

Answer 4

 Increasing problems by 1917, the demand for bread, food and fuel shortages, queuing and inflation: the cold weather of early 1917.
 Breakdown of order in the countryside as agriculture disintegrated due to lack of men, fertilizers and draught animals; peasants taking land by force and killing landowners.
 War weariness.
 The rising number of refugees flooding Petrograd, riser of typhus.

Question 5

R Pipes:

Answer 5

“Rebellions happen, revolutions are made”.

Question 6

P Kenez:

Answer 6

“there was not to be found anywhere in the country any groups of the population… which were ready to put up a fight for the old regime”.

Question 7

R McKean

Answer 7

“the Great War acted as the spark which set the combustible of mass discontent alight”.

Question 8

R Briggs

Answer 8

the Tsarina “was unable to appease mounting discontent with the Imperial Government.”